City have players away with their international sides and Guardiola will be desperately hoping that all come back unscathed as preparations continue.

Both managers are entering new eras, with new clubs and new players, and the mind games have yet to start - Mourinho has not even commented since Sergio Aguero's elbow and subsequent ban.

That could all change in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Guardiola has already made a decision over the future of Yaya Toure in Europe - the Ivorian was left out of the club's Champions League squad for the group stages.

We'll follow all the major stories every step of the way, so stick with us for the best City coverage around and get in touch with your thoughts and opinions.

You can tweet us @ManCityMEN and we'll include the best of them in the blog.

20:56

No City stars

No Celina or Bytyqi

20:13

Inspiration

Andres Iniesta provided a expletive-fuelled motivational speech for Pep Guardiola in the preliminary stages of his Barcelona revolution after the Blaugrana suffered a nightmare start to the season.

It has been revealed in his new book, The Artist: Being Iniesta, that the diminutive midfielder delivered a rallying call in Guardiola’s office after doubts about his suitability to the first team emerged.

Guardiola suffered a defeat to Numancia and a draw against Racing Santander in his first two league matches as first team coach at Barca, but Iniesta convinced him to stick to his ways despite pressure from the press.

He scored two goals and won a penalty on his senior international debut earlier this week as Brazil beat Ecuador 3-0 and is expected to line up against Colombia on Tuesday.

Gabriel, we are waiting here for you, Aguero said in a message on ESPN.

Keep improving at your club, you are doing very well there.

And we’re waiting for you here at City to keep growing as a player and be able to achieve important things.

18:54Ciaran Kelly

Hart's heir?

18:32Ciaran Kelly

Not far from home...

City defender Jason Denayer looks set to make his debut with parent club Sunderland tomorrow.

Sunderland travel to Rochdale for the opening game of the Checkatrade Trophy and development team coach Robbie Stockdale hopes to be able to call upon the Belgian.

We are just waiting on the fitness of a couple, but we are hopeful Jason Denayer will be involved after seeing how he has come through a couple of days training, he said.

17:43Ciaran Kelly

Big call

After all the talk about Sergio Aguero, Andre Marriner and Mark Halsey in the past week, the referee for the Manchester derby was always going to be a talking point.

The FA confirmed earlier today that Mark Clattenburg, one of the league’s most experienced referees, will take charge of the eagerly anticipated game on Saturday.

The 41-year-old has a history with this fixture, having taken charge of the Manchester derby on two previous occasions, including City’s infamous 6-1 win in 2011 - when Jonny Evans was sent-off for United.

Clattenburg was also the man in the middle when United beat City 4-2 in April, 2015 and when the two sides drew 0-0 in October, 2015.

Jonny Evans is dismissed

17:33Ciaran Kelly

Excitement is building

17:12Ciaran Kelly

Merlin's happy

David Silva has been given a new role by Pep Guardiola – and he is relishing it.

The 30-year-old has arguably been City’s best player so far this season, revelling in the freedom he’s being afforded in Guardiola’s new-look setup.

I have to help in build-up play more often and sacrifice a bit more in defence, and overall I’m very happy since you can tell we’ve got off to a good start with Manchester City

A sour end

City outcast Yaya Toure could sign a pre-contract agreement with another club in January, according to his agent.

The 34-year-old’s representative, Dimitri Seluk, believes Toure will interest parties from across the world.

He will have many offers from clubs, he told the Daily Mail.

China and America of course they want him but we will have a lot of offers from England and Europe.

He is in very good shape, very good condition, I think he lost seven kilograms.

Maybe that’s not good enough for Guardiola, but then Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t good enough for him (at Barcelona).

In January we will see. It is three months to wait - no problem. Yaya is a very professional guy.

Yaya Toure

14:58

Big weekend

14:57

Some threads

At least he’s got clothes on this time...

14:53

Kelechi's ready

City youngster Kelechi Iheanacho is ready to step up and fill Sergio Aguero’s boots in Saturday’s Manchester derby.

The 19-year-old, who scored for Nigeria against Tanzania on Saturday, is one of the few like for like options available to City boss Pep Guardiola following the Argentine’s three-match suspension.

Sergio’s suspension is a big loss but we have a lot of big players to turn to, he told The Sun.

If I get picked I’m going to do my job. Games like this mean a lot and it doesn’t come bigger than a derby.

Despite his goal at the weekend, the Super Eagles have not qualified for the African Cup of Nations so Iheanacho will be available for City in January and February.

The Nigerian has already been buoyed by the appointment of Guardiola as City manager and believes he will only get better under the Catalan.

He’s a winner and I believe he will bring success to the club, he added.

His arrival has changed the mentality of everyone because you are starting from scratch.

It’s been very good for me. He’s one of the best managers in the world and I am learning a lot from him.

Iheanacho enjoyed an outstanding breakthrough season

14:16

Toure's agent strikes again

Manchester City will lose millions of African fans because of the way they have treated Yaya Toure, according to the player’s agent.

Dimitri Seluk said:

‘They will lose a lot of millions of supporters from Africa because of this decision from Guardiola.

‘Now they will support Manchester United. A lot of people in Africa say they will never see any more matches of City on TV.

‘Yaya in January can sign a pre-contract agreement with clubs abroad.

‘He will have many offers from clubs. China and America of course they want him but we will have a lot of offers from England and Europe. He is in very good shape, very good condition, I think he lost seven kilograms.

‘Maybe that’s not good enough for Guardiola, but then Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasn’t good enough for him.

‘In January we will see. It is three months to wait — no problem. Yaya is a very professional guy.’

13:35

Gabriel Jesus not focusing on City...yet

Gabriel Jesus says he won’t be focusing on City until he arrives in Manchester this December.

The 19-year-old signed for City this summer for £27 million - but wanted to remain at current club Palmeiras until the end of the Brazilian league season.

He scored two goals on his senior international debut earlier this week - and he says he has plenty to concentrate on before he arrives at the Etihad Stadium.

“I’m focused on my objectives. I like to see the plays, successes and errors in order for me to correct them,” he told a media conference ahead of Tuesday’s match against Colombia in Manaus.

“I am with the national team and I’m focused here. I do not even want to have contact in relation to Manchester.

“All of this [success] comes from work. I’ve been working hard since I moved into the senior team. I want to learn more and more. Continuing to work will help me even more.

“I’m calm, as always. I was not the only one responsible for the victory, it was the whole team. Whoever scores the goal is made out to be the hero, but the whole team stood out tactically.

“The team helped me a lot. My head is even calmer for this game. We will try everything to repeat the performance and get the win.”

13:29

M.E.N. writers pick combined City-United XI

13:27

El Banter will flow!

Juan Mata has revealed there has been plenty of banter between City and United’s Spanish stars during the international break.

The United man wrote in his weekly blog:

After the international break, there is a game coming on Saturday that I’m sure many of you are waiting for: the Manchester derby.

All of us are fully aware that this is a very special game, yet we have to understand that these are three points and don’t get too crazy.

Both teams have started the Premier League well and the expectations are high, as everybody can imagine. David De Gea and me have been joking with Nolito and [David] Silva in the last few days, although the truth is we are now focused on the games with the national team.

After that, we will have plenty of time to think about this exciting derby.

13:20

Steele thinks Hart has made a good move

We’re sure Joe Hart was desperate to hear what former United ‘keeper Luke Steele thinks about his move to Torino.

Steele, now with Panathinaikos, feels the move could be good for Hart’s footwork!

He told Sky Sports:

[Playing abroad has] forced me to use my feet more, so that’s a huge change. As a kid, I’d sort of lost touch with that at Barnsley because we did go long ball for many years.

What they said [at Panathinaikos] is that the ball starts from the back and you’ve got to play with your feet. It’s definitely made me a better goalkeeper.

12:51

ICYMI

12:30

Silva revelling in more freedom

David Silva has been given a new role by Pep Guardiola – and he is relishing it.

The 30-year-old has arguably been City’s best player so far this season, revelling in the freedom he’s being afforded in Guardiola’s new-look setup.

Silva is operating in a “Free 8” role alongside Kevin De Bruyne, which allows him to sit deeper and knit play together or influence attacks in the final third. After an injury-affected 2015/16 season that saw him underwhelm, he is right back to his best under the guidance of Guardiola and he couldn’t be happier.

“I have to help in build-up play more often and sacrifice a bit more in defence, and overall I’m very happy since you can tell we’ve got off to a good start with Manchester City,” he told Marca.

He’s also enjoying himself at international level.

He scored both goals in Spain’s 2-0 win over Belgium on Thursday – the first game of Julen Lopetegui’s time in charge of La Roja.

Silva, who has amassed 104 caps, is now seen as one of the team’s elder statesman and he feels he can help his younger team-mates develop.

“I feel very important, at ease, like a veteran player that has to help the talented youngsters,” he added. “I’ve always felt comfortable with my role at the national team, where we continue to win because we work so hard.”

12:09

Injury boost

Pep Guardiola says Vincent Kompany isn’t yet in full training.

The City boss says he’s been impressed with Kompany’s fighting spirit as the defender looks to come back from another injury layoff.

The muscle is improving but Kompany hasn’t started full-contact training just yet.

I am surprised by how much he is a fighter. He is working morning and afternoon. He is a big professional so in that sense I don’t panic. But still he is not (in full) training.

He has trained on some things with us but in terms of being competitive, in terms of the games and contact and duels, he won’t until he is ready. What is important is the doctor told me now his muscle is clean.